uptight

The definition of uptight is someone who is very nervous, overly-controlled or who can't relax.

(adjective)

A person at a party who is constantly looking around for signs of trouble, worrying about everything instead of enjoying himself, is an example of someone who would be described as uptight.

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See uptight in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

  1. very tense, nervous, anxious, etc.
  2. overly conventional or strict

See uptight in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective
Slang
  1. Tense; nervous.
  2. Financially pressed; destitute.
  3. Outraged; angry.
  4. Rigidly conventional, as in manners, opinions, and tastes: “She sees this headlong, headstrong, plunge into worldliness as a protracted process of shucking the shame of her uptight upbringing” (James Wolcott).

Related Forms:

  • upˈtightˈness noun

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